HB 1365: Criminal Justice Reform and Sentence Reduction Act of 2019 (Passed)

[Devout Centrist]

This act will make a number of badly needed reforms in our criminal justice system. For one, this act will repeal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines concerning possession of certain narcotics, including marijuana. This act will also eliminate cash bail and retool how bail works in Atlasia, ending a practice that harms the poor. Furthermore, it guarantees that inmates will be paid a fair wage for any work that they participate in while incarcerated.

I welcome amendments and debate on this act. I hope that most representatives will ultimately support this act.

[Devout Centrist]

I definitely support the merits of Section 2 but I think the time frame is unreasonable given the scale of the project.

What timeframe would you suggest? I understand that this will likely be a vast undertaking and I'm not opposed to changing the current timeframe.

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Duly noted. I'll let other representatives give their input before making a decision here, but perhaps Section 3 should be deleted.

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I intended this program to exist at the Federal level at the onset. I'll introduce an amendment to make this program voluntary, and clarify that the program is intended for implementation in Federal cases.

[Devout Centrist]

I think that overall this bill is quite good, although I do have a few questions/comments. I do not believe it is necessarily possible to group bail release so simply, as there are other concerns involved in bail hearings than just offender status (like the ability for the accused person to run away).

I would be open to amending the section on cash bail. If you can specify a new amendment that includes some of the categories not included, I'd be willing to include it in the bill's text.

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Good time credit is sentence reduction, full stop. By definition, it is the amount of time taken off an inmate's sentence for their good behavior or actions behind bars.

[Devout Centrist]

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Proposing the following amendment

[Devout Centrist]

Can the amendment be adopted at this time?

[Devout Centrist]

Yes, this amendment is friendly

[Devout Centrist]

I believe this amendment is friendly

[Devout Centrist]

Aye